Sifter



nM. D. BRWN.

sufren. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1?..1920.

Patented Ml-y 16,1922.

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IvIIL'rON D. BROWN, oir seN/ rRANoIsoo, oaIfIiionNIe,-./issIe-NOR orONE-HALF 'ro CHARLES v. BARFINLI), or SI1-IN FnANorsco', CALIFORNIA.

SIFTER.

1o all w hom t may concern Be it known 4that MILTON D; BROWN, a citizenot the United States, residing at San Franciscmin the county ot SanFrancisco and State ot Calitornia,` has invented certain new and usetulImprovements in Sitters, ot which the following isa speciiication,reterence being had to the accompanying drawings. j

This invention relates `to sitters and Amore particularly to means torclosing one end ot the sitter to prevent the escape ot matter.

An object ot the invention isto provide a device ot this characterparticularly adapted tor use in connection with iiour sitters wherej inthe pertorated bottom ot the sitter cov-v ered to prevent the escape otflour, by means ot a pair ot movable plates which are manually operableto open the bottom ot the sitter and yautomatically operable to closethe bottoniot the sitter. i

Another object ot the invention is to provide means ot this characterwhichA may be adjusted to increase or vdecreas'ethe size ot the openingthrough whiclifthel flour passes` and in this way permit the device vtobeused .tor depositing flour -in vessels ot* various sizes.

` rrnother object is to iprovidelnieans lot thisr character wherein theplates tor closing the bottom ot the sitterare provided with -a p airotlinks whichare rigidly secured thereto, said links inclining upwardlyand being arranged `to limit the closing y,movement `ot said plateswithout providing stops or like mechanisms.

A still further object ot the invention is to provide means ot thischaracter including an operating rod which is treelymounted within thesitter and positioned'closely adjacent the handle so that the same maybe operated by the finger ot the user to keep simultaneous movement otthe plates away trom each other.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theimproved construction and arrangement ot parts to be hereinatter moreparticularly described,` tully claimed and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa vertical sectional viewthrough a sitter, showing the position ot they operating means.

specification of Lener-smeet. Pawnee@ May 1,3, 192g Application inedaugust i7, 192e. serial No. 404,266.

open at its ends, and having the usual screen bottomr A, a beatingmechanism B being j ournalled within the receptacle. The parts justdescribed, torm no portion ot my invention. y

lThe lower end G ot the; receptacle `is provided with a pair Aotinwardly directed 'li-anges or plates 7, the outer edges ot the platescorresponding to the contour ot the receptacle while the inner edges 8are disposed in .spaced parallel relation to each other.

y 1n order 'to close the end'G ot the sitter to prevent the escape otflour when the sitter is not in use I provide a pair ot closureplates'Q, the ends ot said plates corresponding to the Icontour ot thereceptacle while the outer edges 10 and inner edges 11v are disposed inparallel relation'to the edges 8, the edges 10 being hinged as at 12 tothe edges 8. .The inner edge 11 ot one ot said platesis intended tooverlap the inner edge ot the adjacentkpl ate when said plates lare intheir closed position. i' The movement ot the plates 9 is controlled bymeans ot links 13. Each link is pivoted at its end 13 to ears 14carriedby the inner surtace ot the plate adjacent the hinged edge ot saidplate.l

The endy 14CEL ot each link is tormed into a loop.

Disposed within the receptacle 5 adjacent to the end ot the shatt 17. Bydisposing the shatt 17 inwardly ot the receptacle, the

same is protected trom damage as it is pro- Ioo tected from contact withother objects so that careless use of the device will not interfere withthe operation of the shaft 17.

ln luse of the device, the sifting mechanism is operated in the usualmanner to sift the flour through the perforated bottom A. If desired,the plates 9 can remain in their closed position during the siftingoperation, or the finger piece 20 may be depressed by the hnger of theuser so as to cause the shaft 17 to force the links 13 downwardly toseparate the plates 9. In view of the inclined position of the bodyyportion of each link, the plates can be adjusted to provide an openingsu'liicient to permit the iour to pass into a small receptacle or alarge receptacle without causing waste, and as the plates are hinged attheir outer ends, they form a funnel to properly direct the flour. Thedischarge of flour can be instantly stopped even during the siftingoperation by simply releasing the finger piece 20 whereupon the spring19 will force the plates 9 upwardly to close the bottom of the sifter,it being impossible for flour to sift through the innerl ends of theplates as they over-lap each other. It will be noted that no stop of anykind is carried by the shaft 17 or finger piece 20, this eX- trapartbeing unnecessary as the particular inclined position of the links 13together with the over-lapping edges of the plates prevents the samefrom moving inwardly of the receptacle to an extent greater than thatnecessary to close the bottom thereof. In addition to this it will benoted that the loop 18 of the shaft 1T is relatively large so as toprovide all the play necessary for the loops 14 in their pivotalmovement. Another feature is that the links 13 when t-he bottom isclosed are disposed in convergent relation, and are gradually extendedinto alignment according to the downward movement of the shaft 17. Thisnovel construction also prevents the links from reaching a dead centerso that locking of the plates in an open position isimpossible. f

From the foregoing `it will be readily seen that this invention providesa novel ymeans for closing the bottom of a sifter to prevent unnecessarydischarge and waste of flour when the sifter is in use and at the sametime preventing the entrance of dirt and foreign matter as well asproviding a funnel to direct the discharge of the fiour.

All of the parts ofthe device are compactly n the plates, a socketdisposed inwardly of the receptacle adjacent the top thereof, a rodslidablein said socket and beyond the bottom of the socket, the oppositeend of the rod being formed into a relatively large loop, the oppositeend of each of said linksv having` an eye .adapted to receive a portionof said loop, said eyes being arranged for movement, toward and awayfrom each other, ,and longitudinally of the loop whereby the links maymove upon the loop from the lower intermediate portion thereof to thejunction of the loop with the rod.

ln testimony whereof l hereunto afliX my signature.

MILTON n. BROWN.

